Didi Chuxing Using Airgain Antenna Technology for its Robo-Taxi Project in Shanghai
Mobility service provider, Didi Chuxing has selected Airgain, a provider of advanced antenna technologies for delivering high performance C-V2X (Cellular Vehicle-to-Everything) connectivity for an autonomous vehicle pilot in Shanghai.
Airgain’s advanced antenna technologies are used in high performance wireless networking across a broad range of devices and markets, including consumer, enterprise, and automotive. The company’s MULTIMAX FV ITS 3-in-1 high gain antenna provides two high gain directional antenna arrays operating in the ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems) 5.9GHz frequency band, as is used for DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications) and C-V2X communications, and 1×1 multi-constellation GNSS (GPS/Beidou) for navigation. The roof-mount MULTIMAX FV ITS antenna solution was customized specifically for DiDi’s robo-taxi project, having been successfully deployed, tested, and optimized throughout several key testing stages on its autonomous vehicles on public roads in Jiading District of Shanghai.
“The Airgain C-V2X solution was chosen based on the high gain and efficiency results, and the ability to perform at an advanced level when working on set routes,” said John Pan, General Manager, Asia at Airgain. “We’re thrilled to have been chosen by DiDi and we value our relationship with this leading-edge company. We are looking forward to further technological collaborations in support of the advancement of autonomous driving technologies.”
“Working with our auto-industry partners, DiDi has the potential to become the first business to realize a large-scale robo-taxi service in China,” said Zhang Bo, Chief Technology Officer at DiDi, and the head of its autonomous driving unit. “After searching the industry for wireless technology partners, Airgain was the obvious choice. We value this opportunity to leverage Airgain’s automotive antenna technology for the advancement of ITS application development.”
Headquartered in San Diego, California, Airgain works in partnership with the entire ecosystem, including carriers, chipset suppliers, OEMs, and ODMs. This collaboration demonstrates the company’s commitment to providing advanced connectivity solutions in support of accelerating the development of Intelligent Transportation Systems, and overall autonomous and connected car innovation.
DiDi is working on autonomous vehicles and in 2016 it created an autonomous driving team that now has over 200 specialists. The team is involved in a comprehensive R&D operation covering a multitude of research areas, including HD mapping, perception, behavior prediction, planning and control, infrastructure and simulation, labeling, problem diagnosis, vehicle modifications, connected car, and security, among others. It is developing and testing autonomous driving vehicles in both China and the United States. The company has also upgraded its autonomous driving unit to become an independent company in August 2019.
Source: Press Release
